Nintendo confirms no used game blocking on Wii U

Mike Luttrell, 20th June 2012

With speculation that the Xbox 720 and PS4 might ban used games, Nintendo confirms the Wii U welcomes all titles.

There was not even a hint of suggestion that the new console might have such a restriction in place, but it's good to hear from Nintendo that it understands the place of pre-owned games in the market.

In an interview with Gamespot, Nintendo of America EVP Scott Moffitt was quoted as saying that the sale of used games "is a reality in the marketplace."

"We haven't incorporated any features that will discourage used game sales at this point. We're not trying to circumvent that," Moffitt said.

Of course, video game publishers hate used game sales because they make no money from them. If I buy a used game, sell it back to Gamestop when I'm done with it, then someone else buys it and sells it to Best Buy when he's done with it, and someone else buys that game, Best Buy and Gamestop both end up making a profit but everyone responsible for actually making the game gets nothing.

It's because of that paradigm that, according to unverified leaks, Microsoft and Sony have both been investigating potential technologies which would tie a single game disc to one and only one console, meaning not only would pre-owned games not work on your console, but you also couldn't take your game to a friend's house or easily buy a new console if yours were to break.

While these rumors have been unverified, they have also not been denied outright by either Sony or Microsoft.